Civilizing The Margins: Southeast Asian Government Policies For The Development Of Minorities

Editor: Christopher R. Duncan
Publisher: NUS Press
ISBN: 9789971694180
Weight: 0.436 kg
Pages: 296pp
Year: 2008
Price: RM65

Southeast Asian nations have devised a range of development programs that strive to incorporate minority ethnic groups into the nation-state. The authors of Civilizing the Margins discuss the programs, policies, and laws that affect ethnic minorities in eight countries: Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Once targeted for intervention, people such as the Orang Asli of Malaysia and the hill tribes of Thailand often become the subject of programs aimed at radically changing their lifestyles, which the government views as backward or primitive. Several chapters highlight the tragic consequences of forced resettlement, a common result of these programs. Others question the motives behind pushing minorities into development schemes. Rather than simply describing the effects of the programs and the experiences of participants, the contributors to this book attempt to understand the ideologies and strategies that led to the implementation of these programs.